Opening hours
London NW1 8AG (UK)
+44 (0)20 748 599 27
E-mail:
Every day from 11:00hrs till 19:00hrs
The decor oozes retro glamour with quirky dressed up mannequins and up and coming events posters on the walls!
The store is in what appears to be a converted house which adds character to the shopping experience i feel as it makes you feel relaxed and at ease as oppose to say stepping into Harrods.
The Brand uses the space to its advantage by marking its personality in every corner....fur ceilings and orange floorboards, and mannequins posed on the staircases!
It feels like your entering your kooky Aunty Cecilia’s house and playing dress up as oppose to shopping !Everything in the store has a unique and individual feel about it albeit due to the customized clothing or from the Character in the store interior.
It feels almost like a dress up box at first glance in the multitudes of colours, textures, silhouettes and cuts from mainly the 70's and 80's but there of course that rare 50's dress or 60's pair of shoes to be found.
This shop is one of the best vintage clothing shops I know of, I've been shopping here for years. Episode is just opposite the Stables market but often neglected by new shoppers to Camden as it's a little past the main shops on the high street. This shops customers range from the tourists who flock to Camden Town and also those Vintage shoppers in the know of Vintage outlets that sell garments without fleas and body fluid included!!
The clothes stocked are excellent condition, authentic and would appeal to both the "trend setting" shopper with personal style and that of the 'trend lover' who follows the seasons must haves.
Episode has a fantastic selection of female and male clothing over 3 floors including a good selection of shoes, specifically, cowboy boots. The prices of this shop are fair -ranging from as little as £3.
Moreover what with the prices of the market sellers goods going up all the time in the Stables market, Episode is comparatively the only reasonable thing around!For a vintage shop, it keeps up with trends in fashion, and has a clearly organised turnaround of stock. It's not just a mismatch of clothing, but sections of clothing well organised that can mean you could find an entire outfit in here.
The Episode Brand is that perfect mid point between the traditional Vintage stores which sold anything and everything and the high street retailers which niche in on the trend cycle which these days seem only to regurgitate a style and era of yester-year ....so why not go vintage!
The brand makes its clothes unique and current by buying second hand clothing and adjusting the garments into new interesting designs.
The interesting part is how the vintage clothes are re worked to become innovative and on trend garments. The brand which has stores in Amsterdam (flagship store), Antwerp, Brussels, Paris and Rotterdam uses a large team of fashion designers to make the brands belief in ethical and environmentally friendly clothes production. Textile Recycling has proved to be a hit for the brand and they even showcase there designs at many festivals such as the ROSKILDE FESTIVAL, 27/06/2010 TILL 04/07/2010, www.roskilde-festival.dk, at "THE PAVILION"& "THE GRAND STAND".
This is an opportunity for the designers to keep up to date with street style and trends and also trial collections out with the consumer .Based on the sales from there showcase they estimate indentify best sellers , and notice what stock would do best in what city based on there demographic reports etc.(I am told the Scandinavians are the best dressed!! and often inspire the design team)
The process of second-hand clothing: how do these great pieces come into the shop?
You're sick and tired of that old pair of trousers. You've had them forever and it is time to get rid of them.
You donate these to charity by, for example, throwing them into a special container on the street.
The contents of this container are then weighed and bought by a sorting company. This sorting company pays the charity per kilogram. So in this case, charity doesn't use the clothes themselves but receives money for it!
Let's follow that pair of trousers:
The bag with clothes falls on the first sorting table where those trousers are put in a big bin that contains only trousers.
On the second table the trousers are being sorted by material, quality and model. The models wanted for vintage-wholesale are only 1% of everything that is collected. The other 99 % is sold to 'ordinary' second-hand shops all over the world, and is recycled as cleaning cloths, filling-materials, insulation, upholstery filling, etc.
In the vintage wholesale company a new selection takes place on again material, quality and model.
In the end those trousers are sold to retail buyers like us, who again judge them on shop-dignity. They are cleaned and prepared for the shops.
After all that sorting and quality checks they finally hang in the shop, waiting for its new owner.
People often think that the clothes in the shops got there by coincidence. The truth is that the brand go through a great deal of effort to offer what the customers ask for.
Of course it cannot cater to every demand such as Primark or H&M- vintage is and remains a scarce item (meaning you cannot make more of it). Take John Travolta's white suit in Saturday Night Fever as an example. Everybody thinks it was a common thing to wear in the 70's, but in truth there were barely any to find.
But i think that it is a good thing as you get the 'trend' without seeing your exact coat being worn by 20 other people who jumped on the half price aviator jacket at your local Zara shop!!!!!
Episode caters for mostly men and women. Every now and then you may find an occasional kids clothes.
But mainly it sells daily-wear to party-clothes, from sporty to dressed-up, from freak to casual.
Not only does it stock the basics, like skirts, trousers and shirts, but also everything to finish your outfit with: shoes, bags, belts, scarves, hats, jewellery etc.
All either hand picked by the Brands team or 'Recycled ' into the Episode own brand.
The most frequent fabrics used in Episode are:
Furs
Leather
Tweed
Denim
Cotton
CLOTHES CLOTHES CLOTHES
Bleached dye is a trend for next season if Balmain ss2011 is anything to go by...look at those jeans in the picture above!!
Episodes bleached dye t-shirts as seen below will be a best seller for sure when this trend picks up more!
As well you know, I am a huge fan of the tribal trend and am really excited for this trend to be adopted once again next season! ...i love this sequined and African beaded waistcoat made by the Episode design team :
Continuing on the Tribal trend in episode and then incorporating the digital print that is set to be big next season....here is an amazing skirt i found!
Both Missoni and Episode have the Graphic kente African prints in stock for next season !
When I say Episode recycle....I mean everything!!
Have a look at this 70's hippy dressing gown they recycled into a flower-power blazer!
Coloured Hounds tooth print jumpsuit below from Episode:
Look at Episodes Coloured Houndstooth print Jumpsuit above and then check out next seasons Balenciaga
Rodarte floral print inspired seen in Episode shirt below.....
Balmain and Balenciaga both are doing the rolled up sleeved Blazer and denim jeans look on the catwalk.....so why not pop to Episode and get there Altered Mens oversized blazers and get the look now!
Here are some more Episode recycled clothes that are on trend for next season:
A militant jacket made into a backless play-suit very Spotmax /Etro A/W 2010
A classic knitted jumper is turned into a knit pencil skirt as seen below!
Jeremy scott meets Celine in this Jersey dress combo! made popular in Celines paris collection Episode decided to use many different vintage Sports t shirts and in a patchwork-esque method make a variety of prom dresses.
